A 53-year-old Milwaukee man has been charged with murdering his 12-year-old grandson, after torturing the child for five hours over money that went missing from his wallet, MTO News has learned.
Andrez Martina, the grandfather of the 12-year-old victim Andre Smith II, allegedly asked Illysha McCroy, Andre’s grandmother and legal guardian, if she could send the boy over to sleep at his grandpa’s house.
LISTEN TO THE CHILD’S MOM CONFRONT KILLER GRANDPA In COURT!!
At around 8 am on Sunday morning, Aug 29, Andrez sent a text to Illysha, “accusing (the 12-year-old boy) of stealing the defendant’s money,” according to the criminal complaint filed.
Martina is a multiple-time felon (at least four times over) convicted of drug dealing and was arrested for a homicide in the late ’80s. McCroy had allowed Martina “the chance to get to know his grandkids” after his return to Milwaukee from Indiana in May this year. He “wanted to reconnect with his grandchildren” after not being in their lives previously. According to Martina, he woke up on Sunday morning at 3 am and “noticed his wallet was open and money was missing.” Martina went to the living room to confront Smith who had he claimed had a problem with stealing. The complaint states, he “smacked (the 12-year-old boy) repeatedly, demanding that (the boy) get the defendant’s money.” Martina “claimed to not know what else to do in order to get his money back,” the complaint says. The boy “ran into the bathroom and locked himself inside in an attempt to protect himself from the defendant. The defendant picked the lock open and ‘lost it’ on (the boy),” according to the complaint.
The young boy is said to have turned his pockets inside out to prove to Martina he didn’t steal the money. Martina told officials he continued to repeatedly hit Smith even after the kid went to a cousin’s bedroom to retrieve the cash. The complaint noted that Martina recalled, “I’m not killing him, I’m just bopping his [expletive],” according to CBS58. At one point when Martina was attacking Smith in the bathroom, he pushed the child so hard his head left a hole in the wall. Smith’s younger brother who also suffered a broken finger among other injuries during this incident told police that Martina used a mallet, sledgehammer, a coat rack, and a cane during the attack. The coroner’s office determined Smith suffered a severe skull fracture, consistent with multiple blunt force blows to the head.
In a later interview with the police, Smith’s great-grandmother said she was “awakened by the defendant yelling” at Smith. She told police she “saw the defendant striking (the boy) with a hammer.” Smith’s mother Nakeda Martina told Fox6 News, “My dad killed somebody in 1989. The system failed to stop him from doing that again. Unfortunately, his last victim was my child.”
Andre’s great-grandmother who is disabled was in the house and helplessly watched Andrez beat his grandson to death. The accused has argued the hammer was not meant to kill the boy but admitted to “losing control” and beating his grandson which led to the child’s death on Sunday, August 29.